Journal article
On the detection and tracking of space debris using the murchison widefield array. I. Simulations and test observations demonstrate feasibility
SJ Tingay, DL Kaplan, B McKinley, F Briggs, RB Wayth, N Hurley-Walker, J Kennewell, C Smith, K Zhang, W Arcus, NDR Bhat, D Emrich, D Herne, N Kudryavtseva, M Lynch, SM Ord, M Waterson, DG Barnes, M Bell, BM Gaensler Show all
Astronomical Journal | IOP PUBLISHING LTD | Published : 2013
Abstract
The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a new low-frequency interferometric radio telescope, operating in the benign radio frequency environment of remote Western Australia. The MWA is the low-frequency precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and is the first of three SKA precursors to be operational, supporting a varied science mission ranging from the attempted detection of the Epoch of Reionization to the monitoring of solar flares and space weather. In this paper we explore the possibility that the MWA can be used for the purposes of Space Situational Awareness (SSA). In particular we propose that the MWA can be used as an element of a passive radar facility operating in the frequen..
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Grants
Awarded by National Science Foundation
Funding Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamatji people as the traditional owners of the Observatory site. Support for the MWA comes from the U.S. National Science Foundation (grants AST CAREER-0847753, AST-0457585, AST-0908884, AST-1008353, and PHY-0835713), the Australian Research Council (LIEF grants LE0775621 and LE0882938), the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (grant FA9550-0510247), the Centre for All-sky Astrophysics (an Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence funded by grant CE110001020), New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development (grant MED-E1799), an IBM Shared University Research Grant (via VUW & Curtin), the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the MIT School of Science, the Raman Research Institute, the Australian National University, the Victoria University of Wellington, the Australian Federal government via the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, Education Investment Fund and the Australia India Strategic Research Fund and Astronomy Australia Limited, under contract to Curtin University, the iVEC Petabyte Data Store, the Initiative in Innovative Computing and NVIDIA sponsored CUDA Center for Excellence at Harvard, and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, a Joint Venture of Curtin University and The University of Western Australia, funded by the Western Australian State government. The electromagnetic simulations were performed by Gary Bedrosian and Randy Ward of Remcom Inc.